Leftwing groups and trade unions are staging rallies to mark International Workers’ Day, also known as Labour Day or May Day. The day commemorates workers’ struggle for better conditions in industrialised countries in the 19th century

Istanbul, Turkey
Police fire water cannon at protesters during May Day clashes. Violence erupted between police and demonstrators after crowds, determined to defy a government ban, tried to march to the iconic Taksim Square
Photograph: Emrah Gurel/AP

Istanbul, Turkey
An elderly man tries to rise to his feet as riot police use a water cannon to disperse protesters
Photograph: Bulent Kilic/AFP/Getty Images

Istanbul, Turkey
A demonstrator throws a gas canister back at police during clashes in the Beşiktaş neighbourhood
Photograph: Murad Sezer/Reuters

Paris, France
Femen activists with ‘Le Pen Top Fascist’ painted on their bodies protest as France’s far-right National Front president, Marine Le Pen, lays a wreath at a statue of Joan of Arc during the party’s annual May Day march
Photograph: Francois Mori/AP

Moscow, Russia
People walk with flags and artificial flowers in Red Square during a rally
Photograph: Maxim Zmeyev/Reuters

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
People march towards the Petronas Towers during a May Day protest against a tax on goods and services
Photograph: Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images

Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Ath Thorn, president of the Cambodian Labour Confederation, joins workers outside the National Assembly calling for the government to renegotiate the $177 monthly minimum wage
Photograph: Mak Remissa/EPA

Rangoon, Burma
Workers gather with banners for a rally to protest against wages they claim are as low as $5 a day
Photograph: Ye Aung Thu/AFP/Getty Images